The awards were presented at a dinner and ceremony at the Pearl Stable.

Lake|Flato received honor awards for both the headquarters of the Livestrong Foundation, the Austin-based cancer charity founded by Lance Armstrong, and the Story Pool Pavilion in Center Point, a private residence.

Overland Partners won an honor award for Hermann Park Plaza in Houston, a heavily trafficked pedestrian area in the historic park.

Mayor Julián Castro chose Café College for this year's Mayor's Choice Award, which goes to a publicly funded project. The 5,000-square-foot warehouse building was transformed into a series of classrooms, a computer lab and meeting spaces for students seeking to attend universities, community colleges or career training programs.

In honoring a project of lasting architectural importance, AIA members chose the Tower of the Americas.

Last year, the tower also received the 25-year Award from the Texas Society of Architects, which honors a project between 25 and 50 years old that has retained its central form, character and architectural integrity.

Plans for the tower started in 1959 when San Antonio was chosen to host the 1968 World's Fair. The executive committee for the fair considered several ideas for a signature structure — among them a grand statue of President Lyndon Johnson and Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz hugging — but decided on a monumental tower.

The observation deck is at 622 feet, and an antenna brings the height to 750 feet, which made it the tallest observation tower in the U.S. until the Las Vegas Stratosphere surpassed it in 1996.

Boone Powell of Ford Powell & Carson was the principal in charge and lead designer of the Tower.

Several members of the original Tower of the Americas team were at the awards banquet, including Powell, architect Jack Peterson and engineers Ray Pinnell and Dick Kistner.

The AIA chapter also gave its first studio awards for conceptual and unbuilt projects. They went to Ford Powell & Carson and A-Gruppo LLC.